On December 20, 2024, Higashi Honganji and Nishi Honganji in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City held the annual end-of-year "Osusuharai" ceremony to wash away the dust and dirt of the year. The sound of followers and monks hitting the tatami mats with bamboo sticks echoed through the Goei-do and Amida-do halls.
This traditional event is said to have continued since the Muromachi period. At Higashi Honganji, it began at 9 a.m., with 310 people with their heads covered with towels and other items lined up in a row and moving forward while hitting the tatami mats with bamboo sticks in both hands. Dust so thick that it blurred the inside of the hall rose up, and people from behind fanned it with large fans.
It also took place at Nishi Honganji from 7 a.m., and about 450 people participated this year. After the head priest, Kojun Otani, made a gesture of sweeping a 4-meter-long broom from side to side, the followers all beat the dust off the tatami mats at once.
